Halloween!!

Ola in his costume before the alterations.

And after. Pretty darn proud of my alterations.

I dressed him up this morning too. The outfit says "I love my mummy" (with a picture of a mummy)

Tutu even bought him Police Style sunglasses

And he was so stylish in them

Ola and Mommy...the two daddy wanna-be's

Daddy, Mommy, and Ola

We went all out for Ola's first Halloween. If you saw our earlier blog, my mom ordered him two outfits, a police man and a bear. Well, the smallest size they had was 6-12months, which was a little big. We decided to go with the police outfit since it was a little smaller. Thank you to all of you who thought we could fill it out in the two weeks we had. Trust me...he tried. He ate like crazy, but no luck. So yesterday, I went to work taking in his costume so it would fit for today. Then, this morning, Aho and I decide that we would dress up too. I really wanted for us to both be inmates (since Ola was the cop), but couldn't quite work it out in the few hours I had. So, I dressed up in Aho's police academy uniform, which matched Ola's very well, and Aho dressed up in his cow costume (a few years ago he was the cow and I was the cow girl). Everyone laughed that we had switched roles. He now gives milk while I give tickets. Aho barely had any sleep, but he didn't want to miss Ola's first Halloween, so he woke up and came with us to the chapel for our ward's Halloween pot luck and trunk-or-treat. It was so much fun. And my two men were too cute.

PCC

Last night was awesome! We went out to PCC for the Haunted Lagoon canoe ride with Cameron, Lohi, and Na'u. We also got to see Channy, Sarai, Ka'ehu, and Sinalei, but Channy was on time (meaning the rest of us weren't), so they were on a different ride (one of the first ones). Too bad we couldn't take pictures during the ride though. It was too funny. The best, was when some monsters pulled a lady out of our boat and dragged her onto shore and hacked her up. She was sitting right in front of Cameron. And we all thought she was with the lady sitting next to her. Ola did great. He woke up a little bit before we got on the ride and stayed awake the whole time. I thought he was going to get splashed by the monsters in the water (so gross swimming in that water), bo I would cover his head and face with a towel. Only, he didn't like missing the action. I guess he wanted to see the monsters. In fact, the only time he got scared was when "Jason" turned on his chainsaw. SUPER LOUD! But other than that, he was a total trooper. If you haven't been, we totally recommend it.

Ola and Mommy waiting in line.

Last picture before the ride starts.

Cameron, Lohi, and Na'u, our fearless companions.

Aho trying to make Ola look at the camera. Nice try hunny!

Thank you Cameron and Lohi for always coming up with fun stuff for us to do together. Driving home last night, Aho and I were both grateful to have such good friends. If it were just us, we'd just sit home all the time asking each other what we wanted to do. Lucky thing we have such wonderful friends!!

Jogging

I had great plans for today. I was so excited beacause I've wanted to go to the beach all week but was busy with other things. So today, I was determined to go. I got ready, packed our towels and extra things for Waiola and I was ready! But...plans don't always work out. Aho suggested that I should go and buy us a beach umbrella and other things we might need for future beach excursions (instead of just trying my luck at getting one of the resort umbrellas at Ko Olina). So, I decided to stop by Walmart and pick one up. But our Walmart said they were all out. So, I went to K-Mart. K-Mart was all out. So I checked sports authority. No beach umbrellas. Sams...not right now. Costco...not anymore. Walmart in Mililani...I think there might be some back in that corner...maybe in athletics...no...sorry, we must be all out.

I don't understand why no one has beach umbrellas. I don't care if it's winter everywhere else...it's summer here all year long. Anyway, after going to all those places...I was too tired to go to the beach. In all my searching, I did get Ola some new sunscreen and a floaty thing with a shade cover. I'm hoping that we put them to use tomorrow.

The day wasn't a total bust though. I really wanted to start jogging again but couldn't find an afordable jogging stroller anywhere here, and shipping in is so expensive. I tried using my regular stroller yesterday, but it got a little wobbly once I started running. Luckily, while I was wondering around K-Mart today, I found a decent jogging stroller for under $100. It's a jeep, which Na'u seems to approve of, so I'm sure Ola will love it. I put it together when we got home, with a few adjustments (the infant inserts from Ola's car seat) since the space seemed a little big. Waiola did great, and I'm glad to say...I am now back into jogging. Well...walking/jogging.

First time in the stroller~A view from the top during the ride~Asleep by the end

Monday

I love to be busy! And before I had Waiola, I could fill a whole day just running errands. I loved making a list of all the things I needed to get done and checking them off one by one until I had nothing left. It's just one of my quirks. But...now that I have Ola in tow everywhere, and I try to run errands in between feedings (which can be every hour some days), I feel like every day is SUPER busy, even though I only accomplish a few tasks. I admire mothers who have more than one child and manage to do anything at all...they are my new heroes.

Monday seemed like another crazy busy day. I woke up at about 6:30, fed Ola, and got to work cleaning. I've been pulling things out of boxes and storage and dumping it into our living room to sort, which ended up making my living room a mess. So I cleaned, and reorganized, and cleaned again, which was great. When Aho got up (I think it was about 12), I told him I needed to run to town, and he was lovely enough to go with me. Since we were out that way, we decided to check out the new Whole Foods store. If you know me, you know I love food! And organic food is usually good tasting and good for you. Walking around the store though, I remembered why I don't buy much organic things...they're so expensive. I wasn't planning on buying anything, but Aho saw some stuffed chicken at the butcher counter and decided we would try it out. Pictured below are the two pieces he purchased as they were cooking for our lunch. They each consisted of two organic chicken breasts, wrapped around stuffing (one was herb, one was apple cinnamon), and tied up.

If they look good, savor the view. These TWO pieces came out to a total of $45. As we walked out of Whole Foods with the most expensive chicken we have ever bought, we thought it would be the best chicken we ever had. No such luck. Aho laughed and said...no wonder we have an obesity problem in America. You spend $45 on healthy, organic chicken, and it tastes junk. But you spend $1 on a hamburger at McDonalds, and you're not disappointed. Oh well...at least we gave it a try.

My mom arrived while our chicken was cooking (and had a good laugh at our story). We're very lucky because her job allows her to be here fairly often, which she is 10 times more thankful for now that we have Ola. He was very happy to see his Tutu, as is obvious. I think I'm the only one who might adore him more than she does.

After our $45 "snack", we were trying to decide where to eat for dinner (I wasn't kidding when I said I like food), and Aho went upstairs to play his newest computer game, Spore. I left Ola with him for a 2 minutes and came back to this...
I guess he's more like his Daddy than I thought.

We ended up eating at Makino Chaya (where I ate way too much) and getting home around 8:30. Since Tutu was here, she gave Ola a bath and he was off to bed about an hour later. I don't know where the day went, but it sure seemed full. No thanks to the chicken!

Pumpkins

On Sunday, as always, Waiola and I went to church. Due to his changing shifts, Daddy was at home sleeping. We missed him, like we always do, but he was up when we got home and caught a few great pictures of me and my little ham. This one is my favorite. I love dressing him up on Sundays in his little onsies with ties on them. But he only has two and he's growing out of them fast.

Later that evening, after going to a baptism, we drove out to Kane'ohe to visit Channy and the beautiful new Sinalei (the other two were fast asleep). And Cameron brought along some pumpkins so we could have a competition...tuiteles vs. del toros. Aho and Cam sat at the table for a good hour just trying to think of something to carve on their pumpkins. After Lohi and I gutted them, they decided to go with a UH theme.

Cam and Aho...taking forever to decide what to carve.

Lohi and Na'u having fun with the guts!

Ola was sleeping, but he was still in the Halloween spirit.

Aho and the final products. The old and new logos for UH. We're so creative!

Wonderful Hubby

Today, I had a great day! It may sound strange when fully described, but if you know me and my OCD tendencies, you'll totally understand.
Yesterday, we went to Pearlridge to cut aho's hair. And since we were there, we HAD to stop at game stop. I was joking with him and asked that since he was getting a game, what was I going to get?? He told me I could have whatever I wanted. But I don't think he expected me to say that I wanted him to take me to Walmart and by me plastic containers so I could organize our storage room. Luckily, my hubby loves me no matter how wierd I may be, and after he bought his game, he took me to Walmart. The townhouse we're in now has one large storage area under our stairs and three closets, two in our bedroom and one in baby's. ALL of those spaces were packed to the brim with boxes full of stuff. And when I said I had a great day, I mean that I spent most of it sorting through all our "stuff", reorganizing, trashing, and donating. I am proud to say that our three closets have less boxes and more space, and our storage area is clean and less than half full. (When I clean, I love to throw things away).
But in joking about what I wanted since Aho was getting a game, I told him I wanted a date. So tonight, after all my mad cleaning, Aho took me to dinner at Tadashi at Pearl Kai. He had salmon and I had miso butterfish. It was pretty darn good! Thanks Aunty Laura for the suggestion. Ola was well behaved, although once my food came, he thought it was his turn to eat too.
Lastly, my wonderful hubby drove us over to Aunty Lani and Uncle Sam's house so I could catch up on my Grey's Anatomy (and Mentalist) that I never remember to watch. Thank goodness Aunty Lani records it. All in all, my wonderful hubby gave me a great day and that's why I love him!

Busy Day

Today, Waiola and I were busy, busy, busy. I knew we had a lot to do, so I pawned the kid off to Daddy as soon as he came downstairs. I laughed so hard when I stepped out of the kitchen and caught this...Waiola and his Daddy watching t.v. together. Aho turned the t.v. to the kids channel and propped Waiola up to see how he would react. He was a little too interested, and Daddy had to turn the t.v. off.

Normally, I'm not a breakfast person. Waiola gets up around 6 to eat, and then we play for a couple hours, and then we usually take a nap around 8 or 9. I usually eat a banana or toast or something, and then eat an actual meal when we wake up later. But after today, I'm starting to see the beauty of breakfast. We got together at Nedra's house for a full blown breakfast buffet. There were belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, rice, eggs, bacon, little smokies, portuguese sausage, spam, fruit, muffins, bisquits with honey, pigs-in-a-blanket...and to be honest, with all that, I'm pretty sure I still forgot something. I haven't eaten so much before 11 am in a long time. I sat at the table so that I wouldn't have to move far each time I added something else to my plate. It was awesome! And of coarse, the company was too. Although, I think the adults were outnumbered by the kids. =) Waiola fell asleep right before we got there, but when he did wake up, his aunties stole him away. Eventually, Aunty Jen put him back to sleep...and then he returned the favor.

After breakfast, we ran to get Daddy food, and then went to help my brother move his new bed. I didn't get any pictures, but then again, mattresses really aren't all that exciting.

When we got home, we got a delivery from the UPS guy. Tutu ordered Waiola two Halloween costumes, and they came in today. But...when we opened the box...they seemed a little big. (They're 6-12 mo.)

The police man outfit is a little better, but we couldn't get over the bear costume.

Thanks Tutu! We love you!

But the best thing about today, by far, was that I felt totally loved by my little monster (Not that I don't know Waiola loves me). I went to take out the trash while Aho watched him, and once I was out the door, the little man who had been watching me leave started to fuss. Then later, while I was finishing dinner, he was being fussy for Aho, so I went over and took him. After 30 seconds on my shoulder, he was sound asleep. I guess it's those little things that really make you feel special. When I was at home last week, my dad commented that Waiola knew who his mommy was and what I felt like. And to be honest, I didn't think he was there yet. But now I know he is, and it really makes me feel special that he knows I'm his mommy. He is such an amazing blessing.

Happy Kid

Just messing around today and caught my kid at his best. Waiola has started smiling and laughing...a lot. Now, when he wakes up to eat at around 2 or 3 in the morning, he's almost always smiling and laughing. Aho got a kick out of it the other night when he saw it for the first time. And his smiles aren't small...they're the kind where his mouth is wide open, gums showing, eyes closing...just plain hillarious. This morning during play time, he was at it again and i had to snap it.The two of us had a full day. Daddy was home sick, so Waiola and I ran errands. Costco for gas, Sam's for some groceries, and USA Baby to try and find Mommy a jogging stroller. No luck (at least not one under $200...so expensive). So we just took a leisurely stroll in the regular stroller. This kid loves the outdoors. He couldn't get enough of all the greenery. Plus, Ola is always in his car seat, so this was the first time in just the stroller. He's a little small in that big thing, but...he loved it.

Thank You, Thank You!

Just had to say a quick thank you to a couple people. Aunty Lohi and Uncle Cameron, thank you so much for the adorable onesies. Waiola was so fashionable at church yesterday. I think men in white shirts and ties look so handsome!

And thank you Aunty Jo for visiting us. It's been a long time since we saw you and it was a great surprise. Waiola LOVES company (honestly, Mommy gets boring after a while).

Football Fan

Last season, at Cameron's bidding, Aho and I became UH football season ticket holders. We tailgated at every game and had a blast. And...we agreed that we'd all do it again. Sadly, this season hasn't worked out so well for us. Aho's schedule hasn't allowed him to go to any games yet. And since Waiola was somewhat collicy in the evenings for a while, I didn't feel up to going either. But, tonight I decided we just had to go. Daddy couldn't join us due to work, but I took Waiola for his first UH football game. He slept right through the noise, all the way through 4 quarters of a UH win...24 to 14. Lucky we had Aunty Lohi, Aunty Ka'ena, and Na'u to keep us company.

First Beach Day!!

i LOVE the beach! If I could, I'd be there every day, all day long. When I was pregnant with Waiola, I knew he would be my beach baby too. The only time he would calm down and stop pushing against my stomach was when I was in the water. But, I still had to prove my theory. So when Aho flew down on Wednesday, we took Waiola to the beach for his first time in the water.

On the 2 minute drive from my house to the beach, he fell asleep. I guess that's what I get for feeding him right before we left.

We couldn't wake him up, so Aho just took him into the water. I guess having your feet dunked in cold water isn't the best way to wake up.

But once he actually woke up, he did great. The water was wonderful (I love clean Kauai water)! It was a little cold for our little man, but even though his hands were shaking, he was completely happy. We couldn't find a rash guard small enough for him, so he wore a long sleeve onesie along with his adorable surf shorts (courtesy of tutu).

Home again

On Monday, Waiola and I flew home to Kauai. Luckily, just like our last two flights, Waiola slept the whole way.

My hanai cousin Cheryl and her boyfriend David were visiting from Florida, so we made the special trip.

But I think my dad was the happiest of all to see the little monster. Waiola loves talking story with his Papa.

It was so much fun to be home for the week and get to relax and hang out.

Conference

Today, Waiola and I spent our morning watching our LDS General Conference. Actually, for the most part, I watched and he slept (which was great because then I could pay attention). I always get so excited waiting for conference, since twice a year just isn't enough. I love Elder Wirthlin and Elder Bednar, and since they both spoke today, I was thrilled. And...they announced the building of 5 more temples, which, considering the way the economy is right now, is such a blessing. But watching conference just made me want to visit Utah even more. Hopefully, we can convince Aho to take us one day soon. =)

Even in his sleep, Waiola sustained the prophet and apostles!

He did wake up a little later and had his eye on the t.v.
He got to catch the last 3 speakers. =)

2 months

Today Waiola is two months old. I was excited to capture the big event and maybe do something special for the big day but it didn't turn out so hot. I woke up sick and feeling miserable, and my poor son was still fussy from his wonderful ordeal yesterday. He slept ok last night, which I was really grateful for, but today he's been a grump, which is really unlike him. So I tried to catch the good moments when they happened. One of the things he loves to do is sit up. We've been helping him up by slowly pulling him up from laying down and he just loves it. He's so curious about everything, it's just a better view. I wanted Aho to take a picture of him this morning, but of coarse, he was sleeping. So I propped him up a little and snapped the shot.



Other than that, he was pretty much my Opihi all day long. Any time he would fall asleep and I would put him down, he'd wake up crying. He was so uncomfortable. I had to run out to the bank for a bit while he was asleep and Aho kept an eye on him. But once I got back, he woke up. Aho said, "He can hear his mama and that's all he wants right now." My poor little Opihi.








I did get to take a few pictures that I wanted though. Lohi saw a great idea on Martha Stewart to take a picture of your child each month in the same outfit (like a 12 month outfit). That way, you can see how they grow. This afternoon he was a little better so I slipped him into one of his 12 month outfits (Thank you Aunty Kyra!) and got a few pics. He was happy for the first couple.










I wanted to take a few in an 18 month outfit too since he might get too fat to fit the 12 month for that long (yes, we're hoping he's a chubby like Na'u). But by the time I got the shirt on, he was totally over it. Oh well.